This is how the secret negotiations between Israel and the Emirates went

2020-08-31T13:25:21.486Z

Jeremy Issacharoff, today ambassador to Germany, drove the rapprochement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates as early as the 1990s. How did the agreement come about?

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US Secretary of Defense William Perry, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, Israeli Ambassador Jeremy Issacharoff

Photo: private

It was a historic step: in mid-August , the United Arab Emirates (UAE), under its Crown Prince Muhammad bin Zayid , became the first Gulf state to announce that it would establish diplomatic relations with Israel . It is still just a declaration of intent from both states. But if the deal is passed, it should change the power structure in the Middle East.

Israel's ambassador to Berlin, Jeremy Issacharoff, 65, played a key role in the agreement. He was the first Israeli diplomat to meet with a representative from the UAE in the 1990s.

SPIEGEL: Whenever Israel announces new building permits for settlements, criticism from Europe usually hails immediately. Last week, Foreign Minister Heiko Maas took almost a day to congratulate Israel on the diplomatic rapprochement with the United Arab Emirates. Is good news overwhelming German diplomacy?

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Ambassador Jeremy Issacharoff

Photo: Michael Kappeler / dpa

Issacharoff: Good news is not the rule in the Middle East. Often no news is good news. The deal came as a surprise to many. Only a very small circle knew about it. What counts is that the German government rates the agreement between Israel and the UAE positively, which Foreign Minister Heiko Maas immediately communicated and openly stated to Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi.

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Source: spiegel

All news articles on 2020-08-31